


What's in your head?

by BlossomRose



Category: Kuroshitsuji : The Most Beautiful DEATH in the World - Iwasaki/Mori/Mari, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, Flashbacks, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Lemon, Love Confessions, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Mpreg, Past Abuse, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Past Relationship(s), Romantic Fluff, Sad with a Happy Ending, Sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2019-10-25 21:08:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17732690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlossomRose/pseuds/BlossomRose
Summary: Eric is new at the scottish dispatch, ajusting is hard with all those memories and thoughts getting back to him from his past.Soon he will be transfered to the London Dispatch association, there things seem to get even more complicated for him.





	1. Chapter 1

He didn’t know, when it had happened, nor how it happened, he forgot.  
Also it was a mystery to him, why it was the way it was now.  
But the fact that it was the way it was now, no one could deny.  
Sadly not.  
He punched against the white wall for the 100th time now.  
There were four white walls, a ceiling and floor, everything in a perfect white, not very big, not very much space.  
There was no visible source of light, it seemed like the room was shining on it’s own.  
The white hurt his eyes everytime he opened them.  
He kept on pounding against the walls, hoping, someone would hear and safe him.  
But no matter how loud he was screaming and yelling, no one heard him, it was like he didn’t even existed.  
And if he didn’t exist, this room didn’t exist either.  
This logical explanation amazed him and annoyed him at the same time.  
There was no way out and no way in, there was only him.  
He and this room.  
Just like a rat in a hamsterwheel, without hope of getting away, he moved in this room.

What did he look like?  
How old was he?  
How did he get here?  
What was his name?  
Did he even have one?  
Was he even a ‚he‘?  
Maybe he was even a ‚she‘?  
All these questions raced through his head, day in and day out but without any hope for an answer, he would never get one.  
What where even answers and questions?  
Was he able to communicate with words?  
He was able to scream, he heard animalistic sounds leaving his throat but he never heard himself speak one single word.  
And did real words even exist?  
Letters in a row, lined together to form any type of sense so another could understand.  
Who would this other be?  
A human being or an animal or maybe another liveform?

He laid spread out on the floor, arms and legs spread out and stared up at the ceiling, he hated this damn white.  
But another colour wasn’t to be found.  
If there even were other colours, he didn’t know.  
His knowledge was limited to this room, he didn’t know what was behind these walls nor did he know if he would ever get out.  
If there even was something behind these prison like walls.  
He didn’t know and also he didn’t care anymore.  
What was knowledge anyway?  
Besides him and this room nothing existed for him.  
No time.  
No objects.  
Nothing.  
This eternal being annoyed him, he hated this room, He wanted to tear down these walls so badly, only if he knew how and with what.  
They were massive.  
Only when his fist hit one of these walls, he felt something.  
It was pain.  
That was the only time, when he felt anything.  
As he opened his eyes once more, the walls seemed to shine even more intense and brighter, the light hurt his eyes and he closed his eyes shut.  
When he finally opened them again, the room changed around him, the white walls disappeared and everything got dark.  
Black.  
Pitch black.  
He closed his eyes again.  
He wasn’t fond of the darkness.  
It made him feel uncomfortable, more then the white did.  
What was that?  
Was it maybe… fear?  
'Fear only takes place in the head', the thought but he still kept his eyes closed.  
He felt like he was falling but he didn’t know how that could be possible.  
And if he was falling, where he was falling to?

All of a sudden he heard strange voices, they were too far away to be understood but he could hear their sounds.  
He couldn’t hear clearly, it was, as if his head was wrapped in cotton or if he was under water.  
As he opened his eyes a third time, it was neither white not black around him.  
He could make out figures, he could make out a source of light and a window.  
Could that really be?  
Did he escape that room?  
But how did he do that?  
That was now irrelevant, the main thing was that he did.  
He wanted to get up and run to the window but all he could manage to do was a small move of his fingers.  
What was that?  
Had he been robbed of his ability to move?  
No, that couldn’t be it, he was just weakened.  
This hit him like a punch in the stomach.  
Suddenly he heard a voice, „Eric Slingby, you are awake“.  
He moved his head around to figure out where the voice had come from and saw an unfamiliar man.  
Replying was difficult for him, he had so many questions but nothing more then a dusty, dry cough came out of his throat.  
It took him a long time to get out a quiet, „Aye“.  
„Do you remember anything?“ the voice asked.  
He couldn’t see what the man was wearing, everything was blurred, if he could, he would rub his eyes but he had no energy to do so.  
Now that he knew that his name was Eric and apparently male, he felt a bit more reassured.  
To the last question he replied a simple, "Don’t know“.  
But although he knew nothing, something was sure, this room was a thing of the past.

 

After a couple of days of recovery and getting to terms with this new situation, Eric got out of the clinic.  
He now knew that he was a reaper now, an immortal creature that was made to collect the souls of the dying in order to earn forgiveness for his own sins.  
At least he was still in his home country, Scotland.  
He forgot almost everything and only now his mind started to clear up, but there was nothing really to do, this was his life now.  
Might aswell he made the most of it.  
His new apartment was small, a bedroom, a livingroom attached to the kitchen and a bathroom.  
Not much, but at least for free.  
Eric placed the bag with provided bedsheets, clothes and a bit of money on the couch and slumped down next to it.  
Tomorrow he would start the academy and he felt as if everything happened too soon, he only got to this world, this live three days ago and now they were stepping on the gas.  
He was used to different ways, his mother used to be easy going, same with his father.

He grew up in a small village, somewhere way up in the highlands of Scotland, were no one was really rushed, his father was a shepherd, his mother took care of the house and he, once old enough, helped his father with the sheep and dogs they had.  
A lot of events made him end up here, at the age of 31 but that couldn’t be helped now.  
He used to be a happy man, not taking himself too serious and all, he had great friends but he had one special friend.  
He had known this person since he was five years old, ever since they moved to his town with their parents.  
This friend was a woman, she had been the best friend to him, they had a connection like no other.  
A very special bond between them, she was a rough ride, had a mouth like a sailor, drank like one aswell but was loyal like no other.  
She was his best friend, partner in crime, drinking buddy and shoulder to cry on.  
With her around, everything was easy.  
Her name was Ereneya, the older the two got, the more beautiful she became, not only visually but from the inside.  
She swore just as much as he did but that was one thing he loved about her, she had been different from the other girls in their village.  
Many men had a crush on her but she payed them no mind, she had plans of her own.  
Eric knew, live wasn’t easy for her, with violent parents and all but the fact that she kept her head up high and tried to reach her goals made him admire her.  
But one day changed his so carefree and happy life.  
One day, he had turned 25 recently, he couldn’t find Ereneya, she was no where to be found.  
After searching her for an entire day, he had to realise she ran away.  
Away from her parents, from this village, from him.  
Thinking about this day made his chest clench and his heart ache, he not only lost his best friend that day but also his anchor in this live.  
He was never romantically involved with her but this strong friendship they had made him feel like they had been two parts of a whole and one part was now missing, till this day.  
For the sake of his mother Eric had forced himself to keep on trying but step by step he slipped away.  
He started drinking, getting drunk very often until one day after his 31st birthday he made the choice to end it all.  
And now he was here.  
Fate could be so cruel.  
He closed his eyes to get rid of all of these thoughts just crashing down on him out of the blue.

It would take him quite sometime to remember details, like how his parents or even Ereneya had looked or what their voices sounded like but this was quite a handful to handle now.  
He decided to call it a night and got up again.  
As he took the bag and walked to the bedroom he gave it some thought, he never had been outside of his village, not really and the fields around didn’t count.  
It was his first time in a big city.  
He hated to admit it, he felt a bit anxious about all of this, hoping he could adapt soon.  
Not long after this he had changed into more comfortable clothes and laid in bed.  
He was quite exhausted still and fell asleep rather soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Eversince these days, a year had passed, Eric had his finals coming up but he wasn’t nervous at all.  
Currently he was observing his target with his team mate, the two of them weren’t very close but one could not say, that they were unfamiliar with each other either.  
His partner was younger then Eric, he was in his twenties, and a bit quiet but nice, Eric had no problem with him.  
His name was Collin, his last name Eric didn’t know, they sat on a rooftop, near by where their target lived.  
„So… Yer from the Highlands“ Collin started a conversation, cleary he didn’t like the silence. Eric nodded, „Aye, and ye?“ he replied, telling from the accent he came from the lowlands, somewhere there.   
"I’m from Glasgow“ Collin answered, „Yer accent is very thick“, he then chuckled.  
„Think so? Back at home, everyone talk'd li’e this“ Eric said.  
„And where would that be?“, Collin now got curious, Eric did look a bit different then the others, he was taller and had blonde hair, most reapers had either brown or ginger hair.  
„Somewhere, in a small village, near the Loch Ness, was nice“ Eric said, he tried not to get into details.  
Collin nodded, „Sounds like that“, he said, „So yer not used to big cities?“.  
Eric laughed loud, his laugh almost sounded like a lions roar, „No, not at all“ he said, „Too loud, too busy, too strange“, he said.  
„Well… No denying that cities are big and loud“, Collin answered, „But what do ye mean by strange?“  
„No one really knows someone and there are too many people who would take a knife to yer throat in order to get what they want“, Eric said.  
„Oh? Was that different in yer village?" „Twas, everyone knew everyone, was like one big family.  
The only strangers we had were people who moved in with their families. But they were welcome“.  
Erics mind started to drift off again, to the day, Ereneyas family had moved to their village.

It had been raining all day, the winds were cold and Eric had been outside playing with the dogs, he wasn’t bothered by the cold and wet weather.  
His mother would be mad but in the end, would sit him by the fire and make him drink a hot drink and take a bath.  
Then he saw a man and a woman coming through the streets, a little girl was with them, she was younger then Eric, maybe 4 years old.  
The man carried a bag and the woman a sack, probably full of clothing or some other supplies, looked like they were moving here.  
The little girl looked a bit worn out from the walk, she could barely keep up, she looked at Eric and Eric looked back, then she stuck out her tongue.  
Eric did the same and turned his attention back to the dogs.  
Later he met the same girl again, she came up to him, „Hey“, she said.  
Eric payed her no mind, he was still not sure how to feel about her.  
„Sorry“ she then said, „Didn’t mean to stepp on yer sissy toes“, now she provoked him.  
„Yer mean“, he said, she looked not very hurt or sorry, „I said sorry“ she said and sat down next tom him, on the muddy ground.  
„That’s not what girls do“, Eric protested, she got angry, „I’m not a girl, I don’t want to be one“, she said.  
He hit her on the arm, she punched back, they fought but then eventually, they made up, „What’s yer name?“ he asked then.  
„Ereneya“ she replied, „But, Ery is fine. Yers?“ „Eric“ he said, she smiled, „Sound good, ye have a nice name“ Eric laughed.  
That was the first time to meet and the first tie fight and there had been more to come but that even made their friendship stronger.

Eric came back into reality, as Collin snapped his fingers infront of Erics face, „Eric, ye heard me?“  
The other snapped out of his thoughts, „Hm? What?“  
„I said we should keep going, it’s about time“.  
Eric nodded and completed their case with Collin, they collected the soul and retuned to the realm.  
Even though, they graduated and were now full fledged reapers and Eric should be happy, Eric had so many questions, but he knew he would never get answers.  
So he decided to push all of this aside.  
He sealed it deep inside of him, planning, never to think about it ever again.  
This night he went with some classmates down to the pub but he couldn't bring himself to drink, he just sat there and chatted with them, ate something and stuck to water or soda, alcohol wasn't for him, not after he did such stupid things during being drunk in the past.  
His classmates went on and flirted with some female reapers, they were pretty.   
Some girls had their eyes on Eric, they fancied him but nothing too serious.  
Eric eventually started to flirt hiself, with success, he was able to take one home with him.  
She was pretty and she was lovely but both of them knew that it was just for the night, they agreed on it.

The ext day was Erics first day at his new office, he shared it with two expirienced reapers, once he would be good enough, he would get an office of his own.  
But that would take some time, he knew that and he was not in a hurry anyways, why should he be?  
He was introduced to his superior, a nice guy but strict, he told Eric that if he would obey the rules he had nothing to worry about.  
The next hour, Eric was taught about the rules for the Office and his opportunities as getting a larger appartment and stuff if he was good he would get a raise.  
That was exactly what Eric wanted and he would do anything to achieve this goal.  
His first half of his first day at work went rather good and he got along with his coworkers alright, he was about their age visually but they had been here longer then he had, that was for sure.  
He still needed help with his reports from time to time but he wasn't ashamed of that, he was here to learn, nit to know everything already.  
There were still some gaps in the mentorship he just had graduated from, so he had to ask the questions in order to get it right, to learn.  
His confidence built up, when he was praised by a coworker for doing a great job on the field for a rookie.  
It made him confident that he was a good field worker, but he had a major problem, he wasn't sure what to do, once he had to face a devil.  
They only briefly taught that during the mentorship, so he was unsure about what to do.  
In the afternoon, Eric was on field duty again, he strolled along the streets, on the way to his next soul collection, he still had five minutes left.  
As he got to the asigned place, he wasn't alone, he could sense that and afterwards, he saw.  
A devil purched in the dark, just waiting for his chance to steal the soul.  
Erics asigned soul, he certainly couldn't let that happen.  
He tightened his grip on his death scythe and prepaired to face the devil, he just had to be faster then this devil to get his soul.  
Once the target died, Eric sprinted, he had his mind set on this soul, just the same as the devil.  
The devil attacted Eric, he clawed at his chest, tried to bite down on his neck, he tore Eric to the ground.  
Eric fought and punched the devil in the pit of his stomach.  
The beast growled, he sounded hurt, that meant Eric had hurt him but he wasn't free of that thing yet, he knew that.  
The devil clawed at Erics arms, pinning him to the ground, Eric could feel his arms bleeding, the pain was strong but his will to get free aswell, he used his legs and kicked the devil but his chance was slim, that thing sat on him with his weight.  
Eric tried to reach his scythe, he dropped it by accident as he got pulled to the ground.  
He had no chance now but to scream, no use, it seemed that no one could hear him.  
Suddenly he heard wing beats, as if a giant bat flew by and then, faster then his eyes could handle, the devil got torn off of him.  
Eric got back on his feet quickly, grabbed his scythe and then he realised what had happened, he got saved by another creatue, no reaper but something else.  
He heard roaring and animalistic sounds behind him and turned around, he saw the devil fight with another being, a female, she hissed and growled at the devil and was fast to kill it with her claws.  
They looked like too long fingernails but before Eric could get a better look at her, she was gone.  
It toook him a while to come back into reality but after he did so, he qickly collected the soul and returned to the reapers realm, that was quite enough excitement for one day.

Back at the realm he finished the reports and spent the rest of his day in the training hall, he wanted to get better at hand-to-hand, so he could defeat a devil on his own.  
He trained with his two coworkers he shared the office with, their names were Connor and Oliver.  
They taught him some tricks but both were certain about one thing, Eric had been very lucky that the second creature didn't come for him or the soul, just saved him and left.  
That made Eric wonder about who or what this mysterious creature had been.


	3. Chapter 3

But eventhough Eric became stronger, became better and very good in hand-to-hand, this incident won’t let go of him.  
He asked colleagues about different creatures wich were known and matched his description but everyone shook their heads and said they never heard of a creature like that.  
But that didn't make it better.  
Weeks, Months, even years after this day, he saw this scenario in his dreams.  
It was always the same, he got rescued by a mysterious woman but he never remembered, or saw her face.  
That upset him a bit but also made him curious if he would ever see that creature again, but until this day, he hadn’t seen her again.  
And he tried his best to avoid the thought of it during work, that wasn’t all that hard, meanwhile he was good at what he was doing and one of the best workers.  
He even did the training for the mentorship, so he could mentor younger reapers.  
One could say, he settled down in this live, he even enjoyed not getting older visually, he couldn’t complain about his appearance.  
Neither he could complain about his effect on women, he was popular with the female reapers and he liked that to be honest.  
Why shouldn’t he? He enjoyed that.  
As the years passed by, he did his job, had fun with coworkers after his shift in bars and pubs and was happy with it.

One day, he got called to the superior.  
He entered the office, „Ah, Mr. Slingby“ his superior greeted him.  
„Ye wanted to see me Mr. McLean?“ he replied and sat down on the chair infront of the desk.  
„Aye, I would like to discuss something with ye“, he said.  
Eric leaned back, „Sure, what is it? Am I in trouble?“ he asked but he couldn’t think of something he could have possibly done, so he was rather relaxed.  
„Mr. Slingby, we received a note from our colleagues in London, they are understaffed and are in desperate need of workers for the collection department.“   
Eric didn’t like where this was going but he kept quiet and listened.  
„And the higher ups decided to send you off to the London Dispatch“, he ended.  
Eric stared at him, „What? Ye want to send me to London?!“ he asked in disbelief, he couldn't believe his ears, this couldn't possibly be true.  
„Yes, ye are one of our best workers and sending you sounded to the the higherups as a good idea, since in London they are so understaffed, they can’t effort to send their collectors off in pairs. Ye can handle yerself and that’s what they need. Someone who can work on his own and is expirienced.“   
Eric felt offended and honered at the same time, he got praised and told he had to leave his home country. „I feel rather flattered that ye consider me but I don’t know if that’s for me“ he tried to get out of this.  
„That’s not up for debate, yer going by the end of the week. That's the final word in this Mr. Slingby. We are sorry we couldn't discuss this with ye but this urgent situation needed to be solved as quick as possible.“ Mr. McLean said.  
Eric took a deep breath and tried to calm that sudden rush of anger going through him, then he nodded, got up and left the office, without another word.  
How could they send him off to London? HIM out of all people! He was the one who just couldn’t get used to big cities and now they wanted to send him off to London?!  
This city was even larger then the one he was in now, He was flattered that McLean called him one of the best workers they had but now he wished he wasn’t that good, maybe that way he could have prevented all of this.

But it was no use, no matter how he put it, he had to leave.   
He had to and that made him feel sick but on the other hand he was curious how this new country and new workplace would be.  
How his new coworkers and superiors wuld be and he hoped badly that he would understand them.  
The british accent was very different from what he spoke and was used to, he spoke gealic and english but with a very thick scottish accent.  
It was his last night in the scottish dispatch and he felt more then uncomfortable, it felt, like his stomach was tied into a huge knot.  
He was in the pub with his coworkers, he sighed and drank his whisky, he usually never drank alcohol but he thought to himself, it was his last night so he could at least have one drink.  
This night he took it all the way, he sang with his coworkers and did goofy things even though he wasn’t drunk but he enjoyed himself tonight.  
Usually he would drink soda or water and watch his colleagues getting drunk and goofing off, tonight he joined in on the fun.  
And by the end of the night he had a woman just like every night.  
The next day he packed up his stuff and got ready for his transfer to London.  
He took his bags and looked around a final time in his flat, that had been his home for the last past years, almost a century.  
After the last check, he closed the door behind him and took a deep breath, he didn’t want to leave, he already missed Scotland dearly.

 

When he then got to the London Dispatch, he made his way into the office of his new superior.  
On the way, the other reapers gave him weird looks, he was tall, a bit taller then some of them and had blue tinted glasses, that seemed not to be very common here.  
Also he was blonde, as he walked through the hallways and up the stairs he only met reapers with black or brown hair, another uncommon thing about him here.  
He tried to hide the uncomfortable feeling behind a neutral face and finally found the office he was looking for.  
He then knocked on the office door.  
"Come in", a voice from the other side of the door said and Eric entered the office.  
The man behind the desk was dark haired and looked at Eric, "You must be Eric Slingby, please take a seat" he said to Eric and nodded towards the chair infront of his desk.  
Eric had such troubles understanding that man, this accent was really hard to understand for him, he set down his bag next to the chair and sat down and looked et him, "Aye, Eric Slingby, that's me" he said.  
The man looked at him, "We will certainly have to work on your accent, it will be difficult otherwise."  
`Work on yers first, ye sound like yer having a stick up your rear`Eric thought but kept his mouth shut and listened.  
"Well, we are very glad to have you here, we are in need of workers and of mentors, we have a group of new reapers but no mentors to mentor those, who are schooled for the collectors work. So we are glad that you have the needed education for the mentorship", he continued.  
Eric nodded "So ye need a mentor and field worker?" he asked.  
The other man nodded, "That's correct" he handed Eric papers, "I need you to sign this and then I will give you the file for your first student, you will be starting tomorrow."  
Eric just nodded, 'great, not even letting me know where m'damn office will be but bombing me with work first thing', he thought to himself, "Sounds good", he said insdead, signed these papers and got the file.  
"This will be your first student, his name is Grell Sutcliff." he heard the superior say and checked the file.  
"Can do", he said, from the looks of it, this student would be an easy one, eager to learn and easy to teach.  
"I beg your pardon", the other man said, Eric chuckled.  
"I can do that", he then said.  
The other man nodded, handed him the keys to his new appartment and explained the rules to him and where he would be working from now on and then he let him go.  
Eric then made his way to his new appartment, it wasn't far from his new working place, 5 minutes to walk, on the way he thought about how this would work out for him.  
He kept his expectations low.  
The new appartment was larger then his former one, the rooms were bigger but he guessed that's what one would get for being into the job longer then others.  
He set down his bag on the sofa and went around to check everything out, he liked this appartment, he liked the space he now had.  
After storing away his stuff he went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.  
But that night he really had troubles falling asleep, so many thoughts rolled around in his head and kept him from falling asleep.  
He thought about how this job would work for him, if he would be able to adapt good here, how the new mentee would be and if he would get along with him.  
And then there were these old problems of his, his thougths about his human live, the thoughts about this incident when he first started and then yet again, this mysterious creature who saved him.  
These thoughts probaply would never let go of him and they put him to sleep even here.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Eric came to the office dressed like always, not really properly but at least he was dressed but that was something, his new superior didn’t like.  
Eric got called to him again and he had to listen to the dresscode and the rules.  
He then shrugged and just said, „At least I’m dressed and the only thing I’m lacking is the vest, so calm down“ he said and left the office again, he was so over these lectures about the way he was dressed, he now went to look for his new mentee.  
Grell sat in the break room and looked around, when he laid eyes on Eric he grinned, got up and walked up to him.  
Eric saw him, „So, yer Grell Sutcliff?“ he asked him with a grin and extended his hand.  
The red haired reaper nodded, „Yes, and you must be my new mentor“ he said and shook his hand.  
Eric nodded, „Aye, name’s Eric Slingby“ he said and eyed Grell, he was tall but still shorter then Eric, had flaming red hair and pointy teeth, the grin in his face told Eric that he must be friendly but strong minded and stubborn.  
The elder reaper grinned, „Then let’s get started shall we? Let’s move to my office so we can talk about yer knowledge and what ye still have to learn and we could get to know each other“, Eric said.  
Grell grinned, „Sure“ and followed Eric up to his office and sat down on the visitors chair.  
„So, yer from Scotland?“ Grell asked, „Aye I am, and ye? Yer from around here?“ he asked and looked down at Grells file and back at Grell.  
„Nah, I’m from Ireland but me mam and I moved to England when I was 15 so yeah“ Grell said.  
Eric nodded, „Okay, so yer new here, when are yer finals?“ Eric asked, Grell chuckled.  
„5 months, now the practial part starts, so you came just in time“ he said and crossed his arms infront of his chest.  
Grell then went on with what they had learned so far and what they still had to, Eric listened and took notes for himself, he wanted to make sure that Grell would do good in his final exam and that he would become a fine collector and field worker.  
After Grell had ended Eric nodded and leaned back, „So, anything I should make sure to remember when working wi’ye?“ he asked, he wanted to have a good start with Grell and not step on his toes first thing.  
Grell thought about it, „Would it bother you to call me a lady?“ she asked and looked at her hands, he clearly felt not so comfortable asking that.  
Eric could tell that he had faced a lot of disrespect in the past and felt bad for his new mentee.  
Eric then chuckled, „Nah, not a problem at all“, he said and grinned at her, „Andy yer a lovely lady indeed", he tried to build up Grells self esteem.  
Grells cheeks flushed red and she smiled, „Thank you“, she said, „Your quite handsome yourself.“  
Eric laughed, „Why thank ye“ he said and leaned forward again, arms on his desk, to look Grell in the eye, „Well then, We’ll go down to the training hall and you show me, what you’ve learned so far, cool?“   
Grell nodded, „Will do, sounds good.“

Grell and Eric made their way to the training hall and Eric got out his scythe.  
„Okay, rookie, give it yer best, attack me“ he grinned as he walked with Grell into the hall, looking around.  
It looked normal, just like the ones they had in Scotland, it was a huge hall, the floor was covered with matts, just like the walls up to half of the height, so during fight practice reapers won’t hurt themselves too hard.  
Eric could hear Grell behind him, gripping the trainee scythe harder and making her move. She approached him from behind very fast and swung the scythe, aming for his shoulder blades but Eric turned around quickly and blocked her attack with his saw, pushing her away with it, using her own weight and speed against her.  
Grell stumbled backwards, trying to stay on her feet as Eric made his move, he swung his scythe at her and she fell to the ground, he pointed his saw at her and then smiled, „Yer good but ye need to focus on yerself and not on yer enemy“ he said.  
„What do you mean by that?“ Grell asked getting back on her feet.  
„Ye need to focus on yer own body and make sure ye stay balanced on yer feet, otherwise, the enemy can take ye down by using yer own balance as a advantage for himself“ he said.  
Grell nodded, „Okay, thank you, I’ll keep that in mind“ she said and used that tipp right away and attacked Eric again.  
Eric blocked this one aswell, „Better“ he smiled and attacked her for a change, he wasn’t giving it his all, just a simple head on attack to see how she could handle these situations.  
Grell was better with defending and getting back at the enemy when they came on, this impressed Eric and made it easy to teach her some of his tricks.  
It made him happy that Grell took his advice so easily and was eager to learn, Grell had great potential and already good skills in fighting, that was unusual but she will make a great collector after her finals, about that Eric was certain.  
„Hey, in the afternoon we’ll go out and we’re doing some theory on collecting, sound good?“ Eric asked as they took a small break.  
Grell looked a bit surprised but nodded, „Yes, sounds good but is that allowed?“  
„Well, I think so but I’ll do it anyway, how else should young reapers like yerself learn how to do a proper job? Through ye into the cold water and yell swim once ye have yer exam? Nah, not with me, I’ll teach ye the proper way. At least let ye watch so ye know what's coming.“ he simply said.  
Grell grinned, „Your the coolest mentor one could have“ she grinned and was clearly excited about getting out and into the collecting session.  
Eric laughed, „Thank ye sweet lady."  
He liked Grell, he liked the fire inside her when she talked about something she was passionate about and the fire in her eyes.  
That made clear that Grell took all of this very seriously and was eager to learn and become a fine reaper, Eric definetly saw this potential in her and he was almost sure Grell was aware of it herself.

Said and done, Eric took Grell out to the collections in the afternoon but he made clear that Grell only was allowed to watch and not interfere in anything otherwise he would not take her with him again.  
Grell had agreed and went with Eric, she thought this was great, seing how it was done excited her.  
The two of them stood on the rooftop of some house and watched the people in the streets.  
„So, Eric, how come you chose to come here?“ Grell asked, she tried to make conversation while they were waiting.  
Eric sighed, „I was forced, I never chose to leave Scotland, never would choose to“, he said and looked up into the sky.  
Clouds covered the blue sky like a thick and heavy blanket, not allowing the sun to shine through, everything seemed grey and dreary.  
The winds were strong and Erics blonde hair flew in the wind, just like Grells red hair, it wasn’t all that long but long enough for the wind to make it fly.  
„That sounds like your homesick“, Grell said and looked at Eric.  
The scottish reaper nodded slowly, „I kinda am but I try to give this live here a shot“, Eric replied.  
„What was your home like?“, Grell got curious while they observed their target.  
„Ye mean the dispatch or the place I was born and raised at?“ Eric asked back looking back down at the street beneath them.  
„I mean the place you were born at“, Grell grinned and looked around, she was always up for a good story and Eric looked like he knew some really good ones and had an interesting story to tell himself.  
„Well, I was born in a little village far up in the Highlands of Scotland, near Loch Ness, not many people, just a couple of houses really but still nice. Never would trade my home for any other. My mam always gave out about the shitty weather and the way my father looked when he came home from the fields with the sheep and dogs but she loved him and me more then anything else. I think it'S her I miss the most when I think of home.“  
He said but then his head shot around, a serious look replaced the almost sad gaze he had as he told Grell about his home.  
„We’re not alone“, he said, Grell looked around, „What do you mean?“ she asked.  
„I can sense another being, not reaper, maybe a devil“ Eric explained and kept a close eye on the shadows around them, from expirience he knew devils liked to hide in shadows of chimneys and houses.  
„I can’t sense anything, what do you sense exactly?“ Grell wanted to know and moved closer towards Eric, she wasn’t scared but she felt a bit uncomfortable with Eric sensing something she couldn’t.  
Eric looked around and then back at Grell, „Just a weird feeling I have, could be wrong, could be right but always trust yer instincts, remember that“, he said and focused on their target again.  
"Okay I will, seems improtant" Grell replied.  
Eric nooded, "Tis, always trust yer instincts, they know best and if ye have a bad gut feeling, be careful, even if it turns out to be wrong." Eric sounded serious, Grell could tell that he was talking from expirience.

After they collected the soul, Grell looked around again, „Well, what ever your feeling was, it was certainly no devil, otherwise we would have had troubles collecting the soul“, she sounded a bit relieved.  
Eric nodded, „Then maybe these were just my instincts telling me to be careful but I still have a strange feeling that we aren’t alone.“   
"Why's that?" Grell asked and looked around, they were in a small alley, no one to be seen and she couldn't sense any other being.  
"Maybe just because of something that happened when I was a rookie myself" Eric replied with a sigh.


	5. Chapter 5

//„Oy, Eric yer a jerk“, Ereneya laughed as she downed her whisky and watched Eric arguing with a bunch of guys who had been flirting with her earlier.  
Eric looked at her, „Come on, ye know I can’t tolerate this“ he said and sat back down next to her, he was tired of arguing for now, he rather spent time with her laughing then arguing with a bunch of idiotic guys his age, who had nothing but women on their mind.  
Especially HIS best friend, he just couldn't stand that thought of it.  
„Why not? Ye know I can take care of myself“ she chuckled and pinched him into his biceps, she loved teasing him.  
„I know I know Ery“ Eric laughed and ruffled her hair.  
Eric played with a strand of her long soft brown hair, he did that when he was bored or was thinking about something, it had become a habit of his.  
She payed him no mind when he did that, she was used to it, he had been doing this since they both hit puberty, Eric had turned 20 recently and her 19th birthday was just right around the corner, he was a year older then she was but that didn’t mean that he was smarter or more mature then she was.  
The opposite was the case, she was smart and very mature in the way she was acting and thinking, sometimes she wished it was different.  
Some cercumstances had forced her to grow up rather early and therefore she had a different point of view then most people her age or even older, even Eric, who was older then she was saw things in a more childish way then she did.  
But that was okay, she liked the way he never took himself too serious and could see everything in a more easy, almost innocent way.  
That always comforted her when she got caught up in her twisted way of thinking and made her feel safe, when he told her, everything will be alright.  
Eric smiled at her, „So sweets, what’s the plans for the rest of the afternoon?“ he asked and let go of her hair, she turned her head and faced him.  
„Well, I say we could get down to the shores of the Loch and take a walk“ she said, lately she was in to walking along the shores.  
Eric laughed, „Okay, sure, anything for ye pretty lady“ that earned him a punch in the side, „I told ye, DON'T call me that!“ she growled at him and got up.  
She payed her drinks and left, Eric followed her right away.  
He did know better then calling her 'pretty' or 'lady' but he couldn’t help it, that’s how he saw her and sometimes he had to say it, he knew she disliked that and would punch him for it but he didn’t care.  
He had known her for far too long to not know this would happen and he knew the exact reason why she hated to be called pretty or lady.  
In fact she had told him that he hated it to be born female on one side, on the otherside she loved it but she hated it that women were so suppressed, that they had nothing to say in society.  
Her dream was to make a change, show others that women did have value and had a voice and a mind to speak and can be just as good as men, Eric knew that this was one of the goal she tried to achieve.  
But the reason she hated it to be called pretty or lady was another.  
It had to do with her parents, especially her father but he didn’t like thinking about it, his mood was too good for that but he knew this evening would take a turn and end up in deep talk.  
Her father kept calling her out, no matter if in public or at home, telling her she was useless and not worthy, that she was ugly and that would be the reason no one would want to marry her, that she had an awful personality and so on.  
He had been doing this since Eric had known her and the saddest part about it was, that Ereneya had started believing her father.  
Not about that marriage thing, she chose not to get married, Eric knew that part but she had started to believe that she was not worthy of being loved.  
But at the same time, out of this treatment at home, grew pride, Ereneya was very proud.  
She never admitted if she was hurt and never showed it around people, she hardly ever told Eric if something bothered her let alone let him see her weak side.  
She wanted to handle everything on her own and Eric admired her for that but also thought that she was reckless at the same time.  
Ereneya believed, that no one cared about her except for Eric, that's why she was all the more grateful for having him by her side.  
And although Eric knew all of this, he felt bad that he couldn't show Ereneya how much he really cared about her, he could just be there, stand by her side and watch how she fought with herself every day.  
Ereneya walked through the streets next to Eric and just focused on the way.  
He looked at her briefly while walking, „Ye okay?“ he asked.  
She nodded, „Sure, don’t worry“ she said and walked on, deep down Eric felt like she had something she wanted to get off her chest.  
But he wouldn't dare ask her about it, once they had hit puberty she had stopped telling him what was up in public, in case others were listening and if he tried to make her talk, she would close up inside and he wouldn't have any chance on getting it out of her anymore.  
So he waited patiently until she came to him with something and that usually worked well.  
As soon as they reached the shores she turned around, hugging him tight and cuddling into his broad chest, her face pressed into the fabric of his shirt, hiding it from him.  
Eric wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close as possible, running his hand through her hair.  
She was shorter then Eric so he could easily rest his chin on her head as he hugged her tight, „Okay, spill it, what happened?“ the worries about her getting the better of him.  
Without looking at him she said, „Can I spend the night at your place and have yer mam take a look at my wrist?“ she asked, „I think it’s broken“ her voice was shaking, Eric knew that she did her best not to cry.  
In the back of his mind he knew she really wanted to but she was just too proud to do so.  
His mother was familiar with medical practices, she wasn't a doctor but she was taking care of her families injuries and illnesses and didn't mind checkign on Ereneya if needed.  
Eric gave her time to explain, „My.. 'father' and I fought and during that he grabbed my wrist and twisted it, I think he broke it.. but… I definitely broke his nose so I think I can’t really go home tonight“ she said.  
She spat the word ‚father‘ out like it was poison in her mouth or something discusting.  
Eric took no time to think, „Sure, come to my place, my mam would be glad to have ye there.“  
She lifted her head and looked Eric right in the eye, over time she did that and Eric was always amazed by her eyes eventhough he had seen them so often.  
Her right eye was blue like the sky and her left was green like the green grass and they were so clear and beautiful, Eric had never seen such eyes before.  
And now there was something else within them, it was gratitude and happiness, a rare sight but Eric loved seing it, especially when he caused it.  
„What would I do without ye?“ Ereneya asked and gave him a kiss on the cheek, she loved him just like an older brother.  
„Ye would be bored to death every day“, Eric chuckled; „And.. ye would probably be married by now“ he said.  
She nodded, „Problaply“ she sighed, „Well… I’m glad to have ye, live sure is more exciting with ye.“  
She smiled warmly at him. „Thank ye now lets walk.“  
They continued their walk, now laughing and chatting like usual, at some point she went to the water and stuck fer bare foot inside, Eric watched.  
She always was barefooted, she hated shoes.  
Eric couldn't but smile, "Ery, ye know... I love ye" he said, he had told her that often and she knew how he meant it.  
She turned her head to him and smiled very warmly and soft at him, "I love ye too Eric."//

 

Drenched in sweat Eric awoke from this dream.  
It had felt so real that Eric almost could have sworn to see Ereneyas smile as he woke up and feel her in his arms.  
There was no denying, he missed her, more then he thought he would even after all these years he hadn’t seen her, not even knowing if there had been a small chance of her being still alive like he was.  
He turned around and tried to fall asleep again, pushing this dream aside.  
But it was no use, this dream came back, until he had to go to work, he couldn’t shake off the image of Ereneyas smiling face, so full of live and love but also pain and sorrow.  
She was a woman full of live and pain at the same time and he would give everything he had, to know what had happened to her back then.

When he entered the office, Grell looked at Eric, „Eric? You okay? You seem a bit off today“ she said.  
„Nah, I’m fine just had a weird dream is all“, he said and stretched the back of his head.  
Grell nodded slowly, „I understand, everyone has dreams like that once in a while, I had one last night as well.“  
Eric looked up, „Yeah? Wanna talk about it?“ Eric offered.  
Grell looked at him for a very long moment but then she nodded, „I dreamt about my mam“ she started, „I love my mam and she was my idol, she was beautiful, had lovely red hair and blue eyes, a real beauty. She did everything for me, in my dream I saw her, she held me, was crying, her lovely eyes were red and full of sadness. Then I saw my arms, they were bloody, I dreamt of my death.  
And my mam was there, she held be, telling me, everything will be alright but I knew that she was lying and she knew it too but she tried to soothe me nevertheless.“ Grell took a deep breath.  
„Ye really love yer mam“, Eric said, Grell nodded, „More then anything, she was my hero and I looked up to her.“  
Eric knew exactly how Grell felt, „I know how ye feel, I love my mam just the same“ he said.  
Grell looked at him, „I died in her arms, that was the worst for me but at the same time… I felt safe“ Grell said.  
Eric felt like Grell opened up completely to him and he appreciated that very much.  
„What was yer mams name?“ Eric asked after a moment of silence, „Rachelle“ Grell replied and smiled as she spoke the name.  
Eric smiled, „That’s a beautiful name“ Eric smiled, „And the way ye described yer mam she was a beautiful woman:“  
Grell nodded, „Yes, she really was:“

Eric took it easy on Grell today since both of them had dreams from their past, he tried to make Grell feel accepted with his dreams and feelings.  
He tried and had the feeling that Grell felt that, she smiled every now and then at Eric but today was more them talking about their dreams and feelings then anything else.  
But when Grell asked him about his dream he hadn’t the guts to tell her and tried to avoid that topic.  
He never talked about Ereneya or his mam to anyone since he died and he wasn’t sure if anyone would understand him so he chose rather not to talk about it then to confuse people or even bore them.  
But Grell wouldn’t let him get away with not talking, she bugged him the entire lunchbreak until Eric finally gave up, „Okay okay fine, I’ll tell ye“ Eric gave in and sighed.  
Grell gave Eric an innocent smile and waited for him to start.  
„Well… I had this friend growing up, she was mor then my better half really, and she just vanished one day, I never got to know what had happened to her and that bothers me till this day“ Eric said.  
Grell nodded slowly, „I see she meant a lot to you right?“  
„Ye can’t imagine how much, we grew up together went through everything together but then she suddenly disappeared… That was the darkest day in my live.“  
„Oh… I can only imagine how that must’ve felt“ Grell said, „It was really hard but on regular bases now, I dream of things from my past, mostly about her. I probably miss her more then I think I know“ Eric said.  
Grell nodded, „Yeah you probably do“ she felt bad for Eric.  
The scotsman nodded, „I really do“ he sighed, that made Grell curios, „Tell me more, what was she like, how did she look like? What was her name?“  
Eric leaned back, „Her name was Ereneya, she was a beauty, had soft, light brown hair, a bit brighter than hazelnut brown and her eyes… She had two different eye colours, her right eye was blue like the sky and her left was green like the green grass and she had lovely curves, big breasts indeed and her hips were perfectly shaped. She was a real beauty. She looked more delicate then she actually was, she swore like a sailor and drank like one aswell, if ye didn’t know her, saw her and then heard her talk ye really thought this could only be a joke but that was who she was.  
But eventhough she was so strong, she held a lot of pain inside of her but I think that made her even stronger. She had great plans but I don’t know if she could fulfil them or not… That bothers me.“  
Grell listened, „She sounds wonderful and strong but still all of this sounds sad aswell“  
Eric nodded „Tis.“

 

A month had passed since then and Eric and Grell had been growing rather close to each other, they had a good mentee-mentor relationship.  
But Eric had noticed that Grell seemed off lately but everytime he tried to talk to Grell about it, Grell tried to avoided the topic and switched to another one really quick.  
But Eric wouldn’t stop, he kept bugging her, until one day, she finally spilled it.  
She told him about a man in her semester and that she liked him but he ignored her and by the looks of it they would graduate on the same day so they would become reapers together.  
Eric thought about it, „Well, I don’t know all of the rookies but that sounds like one of them who just works. Well, I don’t talk to the other mentors aswell so, I’m sorry but if ye don’t tell me the name, I can’t really help ye.“  
Grell sighed, „His name is William“ Grell sighed and looked out of the window of Erics office.  
Eric watched Grell, she seemed far away with her thoughts, her eyes filled with hope and live but there also was something else, Eric couldn’t put his finger on it but it was there.  
It kind of remembered him of the gaze in Ereneyas eyes and that took him back to these thoughts.  
He shook his head to rid himself from these for now and looked back at his paperwork.  
„So, William eh?“ Eric asked and looked through the schedule he had been given for the training.  
Grell nodded, „Yes. he has something…“ she started babbling and talking about that guy who annoyed and mesmerised her at the same time.  
Eric listened carefully and took notes while she talked, he would try to make heads and tail of Grells talking and tried to figure out if he had ever met the guy in question.  
After a while he figured, he never had so he planned on doing so, if he really was in the same semester like Grell, it would be easy to meet that guy.  
„'ric? Hey, Eric?“ Grells voice got Eric back from his thoughts as he shook his head to clear his mind.  
„What’s it Grell?“ he asked with a grin on his face, „Could we get on with our theory?“  
Grell nodded, „Sure.“

After his shift and after his duties as a mentor that day, Eric made his way to a pub in the human world, since he found the pubs in dispatch fairly lame.  
Also he needed a break from the dispatch and its members, he just needed an evening out.  
He sat down and ordered a whisky, like he used to in Scotland, then he looked around, humans were much more fun watching when they were drunk.  
He drank his whisky with no rush and observed the other people at the pub when suddenly a commotion started, men starred towards the entrance and talked, whispered and whistled.  
Eric turned his head towards the entrance and then saw what this was all about.  
A woman had entered, she was beautiful, her skin was almost as white as snow and her hair was beautifully brown just like hazelnut.  
She had a beautiful figure and not to talk about her breast size, they were large and looked like they would fall over the rim of her corset any minute, her skirt moved smoothly around her legs as she made her way to the counter, ignoring the men staring at her, she sat down next to Eric.  
//She’s beautiful… But I think I've seen her before// he thought as he eyed her up and down.  
She suddenly snapped her head around and barked at him, „Stopp eying me like I’m some kind of desert ye bastard!“  
Her voice was very deep, she almost sounded like a man and it was thick with a scottish accent but still, she looked beautiful.  
She then eyed Eric, „Ye might be a handsome man but that doesn’t give ye the right the objectify me or any other women!“ she then growled at him, there was no denying she was irritated.  
Eric couldn’t react properly, not even look her directly into the face let alnoe eyes, he just stammered an apology and turned back to his whisky.  
After a couple of minutes she sighed deeply, „Sorry, I guess I was just irritated from work and took it out on ye because ye were looking at me. I’m sorry.“  
Eric shrugged, „That’s fine, it wasn’t nice of me to stare at ye either.“  
It took another five minutes for Eric to speak again, „I have a feeling I’ve seen ye somewhere“, he said, she shrugged, „I don’t know either ye have been to the joy house I work at or ye passed me on the streets, I came here not too long ago.“  
Eric nodded, „Oh okay“ then he looked at her again, „Well, was work hard?“  
She just nodded and drank her whisky, Eric just now had noticed she had ordered.  
He was quiet while he watched her but then, all of a sudden, it hit him.  
Like a ton of bricks, like a carriage crashing into him.  
This woman infront of him, was very familiar to him, in fact, more then he noticed first, his eyes grew wide in disbelief, hope and then sadness.  
His voice was now nothing more then a husky and hot whisper as he managed to speak her name, „E Ery?! I Is that… ye?“


	6. Chapter 6

The woman turned her head around and stared at him, „How did ye know that name!“ she snapped, she sounded confused yet angry.  
But then, after she looked at him closer for a minute, her eyes grew wide and she had a look of disbelief on her face, „E Eric?“ she asked quietly.  
Eric nodded slowly, he couldn’t believe that she sat next to him, that he saw her again, after all of these years.  
So many questions started running through his head, so many things he wanted to tell her, so many emotions stared rushing through him, as if they were taking a rollercoaster ride.  
it took him a long moment, to realise how much he actually had missed her „What are ye doing here? Where were ye?“ was the only thing he could ask, biting back tears.  
She sighed, also taking a moment to organise herself „Well… ye wouldn’t believe me would ye?“ she asked, then she turned her head, „But how come yer still alive?“  
Eric sighed aswell, „Ye first“ he incisted, it somehow felt like a dream seing her again.  
„Yer mad at me?“ she asked, „For disappearing on ye?“ she starred at her empty glass.  
„I was at first but now I’m just happy to see ye again although I would like te know where ye've been. What ye've been doin', how come yer a hooker now?“  
„Lot o'questions there" she shot back, "Long story… Where should I start?“ she ordered another drink.  
„At the beginning would be good“ Eric answered.  
She let out a dragging sigh and looked at him, her eyes wich used to be filled with pride and a certain sparkle had now defeat and sadness carved into them.  
„I didn’t run away, I got thrown out and told to leave otherwise she would kill me… my mother… In the end it turned out she never was my mother but that’s a different story.  
Anyway, I then made my way into the next village, there I finally found work, I was trained to be a nurse.  
But not for too long, one night before my 24th birthday I left a pub rather late.  
On the way back to the hospital I noticed I was followed by a dark shadow, end of it all, I got raped in an alley.  
But I didn’t die from it, like I expected, instead two men came to me, clearly not human, it sounds weird but all of it is true.  
They told me I was no human, at least not anymore, I was a succubus and as such I needed to return home.  
They took me to hell, literally, there I spent the most horrifying years of my live, nothing but sex.  
But I need it to survive. Succubi need sex in order to survive, they live from the energy they take during the act from their partner.  
It broke my will and spirit.  
I managed to get out not too long ago and some guy made me work for him… But I now got my will back to fight… I want to make it to the top, I want to kill the queen of the succubus and take her place, I want to make a change…“ a pause, "I want to prove that not all demons are bad and clichee" she looked at him, „Now tis yer turn, what’s wi'ye?“  
Eric had listened, he couldn’t believe his ears, could that really be true?  
Every word?  
But she sat here, right next to him, so it must be true somehow, what reason would she have to lie to him about something like this?  
„I’m a grim reaper… I killed myself and tis m'punishment fer it“ he said.  
She nodded, „Hardcore. Never pictured ye would actually do som'n like this.“  
„Ye don’t sound very surprised“ he pointed out, almost a bit sad by the statement she made.  
„Nothing can surprise me at that point“ she shrugged, "So, what happened after I left?"  
They ended up talking almost through the entire night, catching up.

 

\----

 

Months passed and now Erics mentee was a full fledged reaper, he was proud of Grell, he turned out to be a fine reaper, good at his job and also very good company.  
Grell got assigned to Erics office, the two of them sharing it now.  
The scottish reaper didn’t mind, he liked the flamboyant redhead.  
„Well, now we’re official work buddies“ Grell grinned across from her desk towards Eric.  
The blonde man grinned back, „Aye“  
„I heard rumours, that you’ll be getting a new mentee soon. Apparently some transfer kid, who passed the exams but needs help in this dispatch since the one he was at was different.“ Grell said as she looked over her paperwork, in a monotone voice as if she was talking about the weather.  
„Where do ye get these things from?“ Eric wondered with a smirk on his face, Grell was better then any gossip magazine.  
„Girls gossip“ Grell grinned and switched into her gossip mode. She crossed her legs and leaned forward, now she was in her element „Rumor also has it that this new guy got transferred because they wanted to get rid of him. Why is not found out yet but everyone in the cafeteria and the breakroom talks about it.“  
Eric looked puzzled, „Why would someone get rid of employees?“ but then he thought about it //That’s what happened to ye too, stupid//.  
With a sigh he rubbed his temples and leaned back, „Where is that guy from?“ he wanted to know since Grell seemed to know everything before he did.  
„Some say Ireland some say America, not quite sure, you will have to ask him if yer the one who gets to mentor him.“ Grell said.  
Grell hadn’t properly finished her sentence when the door opened and their superior came into the office, „Good morning gentlemen, Mr. Slingby, I’d like to see you in my office“ then he left again.  
„And he coulnae send a pigeon fer that?“ Eric groaned and got up, today he was wearing one of his kilts and like a real scotsman with nothing underneath, he didn’t like underwear anyway.  
he hated these things, they were so itchy and it felt tight, he needed freedom.  
As he made his way to the office he thought about what Grell had said, could that be true?  
He liked mentoring but what use could it have to mentor someone who had already passed the exams and knew his way around reaping?  
As he entered the office his superior looked him up and down, „Mr. Slingby, how many times do I have to tell you to wear pants at work? These kilts are hardly the proper work attire“ the man said.  
„I didn’t show up naked and I'm decent so lay off wou’d’ye?“ Eric said as he sat down in the visitors chair infront of his bosses desk.  
The man sighed, „Anyway, you will be assigned a new mentee today.  
He just arrived here an hour ago from Ireland, he will have to do the one year mentorship and a new theory exam although he passed it back at his old working place.  
Rules are rules and we chose you to mentor him since you are an excellent reaper and always do a great job with your students.“ he explained.  
Eric sighed, „Oh well… I guess after this I need vacation“ he crossed his legs, the superior sighed aswell, „You said the same thing while mentoring Mr. Sutcliff and you never comlained once after that,“ he stated.  
Eric rubbed his temples, „Okay… When do I start?“  
It knocked on the door, „Now“ the superior said and his voice grew louder, „Come in.“  
The door opened and a young man came in, Eric turned around to look at him, eying the young man up and down.  
He was maybe 20 or 21 years old, had dark brown hair, very pale skin and he was thin, extremely thin but his smile was warm and soft, „Good day, my name is Alan Humphries, I got transferred to the London branch“ he introduced himself.  
„Good day Mr. Humphries, this is Eric Slingby, your new mentor“ the superior said and pointed towards Eric.  
Eric nodded, „How ye doin’?“ he grinned with his usual thick accent.  
Alan smiled shyly, „Hello, nice to meet you“, he extended his hand to Eric, as Eric shook it, he was almost shocked //It’s so cold… bony… he’s so scrawny// he thought to himself //That kid passed the physical exam? How?// \--- That same evening Eric walked home //Goddamn I need a car// he thought to himself, cars were a new inveted luxurious item at the realm, he had his mind set on getting one since he worked this job for a while now and wanted to treat himself. He thought about this invention as he saw his new mentee walking up the road he walked down. The younger reaper smiled, „Good evening“ he said as he passed Eric by on the street. Eric couldn’t really react, he blinked and replied, „Goo’ev’nin te ye too“ Alan stopped and turned around, „Mr. Slingby, your accent is so heavy and thick, where are ye from?“ he asked //his irish accent is better te understand then th'brits... nice te hear that accent// Eric thought. „I’m from Scotland“ Eric answered and turned around to Alan. Alan smiled, „I thought so, but wasn’t sure“ he answered and gave Eric another shy smile, „Well then, I guess I see you tomorrow, have a good evening Mr. Slingby“ Alan said and turned around, walking away. Eric stood there for another moment, looking puzzled, //that kid's weird… but friendly, I guess there’s no harm in trying te find out more about him. I wonder why they wanted te get rid o'him back in Ireland... Éire, such a beautiful country, the land o'green... If I wouldn't've been born in Scotland, might aswell been Ireland. But still that boy... I wonder if we get along// Eric thought as he walked home.


End file.
